Hirsch’s hosted their first annual Junior Sosatie Champs last Thursday amidst sizzling sounds and some incredibly enticing flavours. The children had a great time, creating colourful and creative sosaties for the judges to critique. The three judges, namely Corne Viljoen, Hirsch’s Glenda Thomson and the Courier’s foodie David Hoehler were impressed with the braai’ing ability of these miniature chefs. They had to deliberate for a long time before deciding on the ultimate winners but Benjamin Pilz took the Smokey Joe Weber braai first prize for the juniors and Abigail van der Linde netted it for the older age group.
Here are some of the recipes from the day!
JUNIOR WINNING RECIPE: Benjamin’s Great Pork Sosaties
Ingredients
4 bamboo skewers
1kg pork belly pieces cut into squares
Cape Fruits
Seasoning and Marinade
Method
1.Soak the skewers in warm water to stop them from getting burnt.
2. Prepare all the ingredients. Put the pork belly pieces together in one space, the apricots in one space and the peaches in one space and the rest of your fruit like that.
3. Then take one skewer and put on a piece of pork, a piece of apricot and so on until your skewer is full.
4. When all the skewers are full place them in a flat bottomed dish and pour over Patrick’s secret marinade. Leave to soak overnight.
5. Before placing the skewers on the fire make sure the fire is not too hot and that you have your tongs. When the fire is ready place skewers on and get ready to turn a lot. Watch out that the meat does not burn. It should take 10 – 15 minutes.
Patrick’s Secret Marinade Recipe
Ingredients
Apricot Jam
Fruit Chutney
Onions, Garlic and curry
Soya sauce
Method
1. Gently fry finely chopped onion and garlic – add a touch of curry powder.
2. Then add in the apricot jam to turn into liquid. Add in a few tablespoons of fruit chutney. Let this cook up slowly and at the end add a little bit of soya sauce.
3. The WARM marinade must go on the skewers and soak overnight before being placed on the braai.
JUNIOR RUNNER UP: Ashton Duncan’s Chicken Sosaties
Ingredients
Chicken breast – cut into blocks
Purple onion
Red pepper
Yellow pepper
Green pepper
Pineapple
Garlic
Mixed herbs
Lemon juice
Method
1. Cut all ingredients into chunky pieces
2. Coat the chicken with the lemon juice, garlic and herbs
3. Put ingredients onto skewer sticks in any order with one of each.
4. Grill on braai or oven until golden and cooked
WINNING SENIOR RECIPE : Lara van den Berg’s Braai Leg of Lamb Sosaties
Ingredients
1. 400g deboned leg of lamb, cubed
2. Apricots for in-between (optional)
3. 1 large red pepper, cut in pieces
4. 1 medium red onion, quartered
Marinade
1. ½ cup of red onion, (chopped)
2. 2 fresh yellow paprika (chopped)
3. ½ teaspoon of crushed garlic
4. ½ teaspoon of crushed ginger
5. Juice and zest of 1 lemon
6. 30 ml olive oil
7. 1 teaspoon masala or curry powder
8. 1 Teaspoon cumin
9. 5 ml salt
10. 3 table spoon full of peach or fruit chutney
11. 100 ml rose wine
12. 1 teaspoon sugar
13. 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
14. 125 ml unflavoured yoghurt
Method
1. Fry chopped onion and fresh paprika in olive oil and remove from heat. Stir in all the ingredients except the yoghurt. Bring to boil and let it simmer for 5-7 minutes. Take off from heat, set aside and let the marinade cool down.
2. Once the sauce is cooled, you can mix it with the unflavoured yoghurt. Place the cubed meat (leg of lamb) in a bowl and pour the marinade over it. Leave in fridge for at least three hours.
3. When ready to braai, layer the cubed meat, apricots, green pepper and onion onto the sticks.
4. Braai sosaties for 5-7 minutes on each side over medium coals, brushing frequently with marinade.
5. Sosaties must be juicy inside and nicely browned outside. If using dried apricots, they should be soaked in rooibos tea beforehand.
NOTE: If you like hot food, add more garlic, a few crushed chillies, and a sprinkle of crushed curry leaves to the marinade.
RUNNER UP SENIOR RECIPE: Abigail van der Linde’s Marinated Vegetable Sosaties
Ingredients
6 wooden skewers soaked in hot water (this is to stop skewer from splintering)
Rosetta tomatoes (the oval-shaped variety, keep whole)
Mushrooms (Portabellini are nice if you want a change from the white button variety – keep whole – prick)
Courgettes (baby marrows – the thicker type cute in 1.5 inch intervals)
Patty pans (baby variety – prick)
Red peppers (cut into about an inch squared)
Onion – large (cut into six wedges)
Marinade
4 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons olive or salad oil
2 tablespoons clear honey or brown sugar
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar or dry red wine
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger or a good pinch of ground ginger
2 crushed garlic gloves
Place all marinade ingredients in a screw top bottle and shake to combine.
Method(s)
You may either:
1. Place all the vegetables into a container and pour marinade over, mix to coat, cover and leave to marinate for one to two hours or until ready to assemble.
2. Assemble the skewers, place in a shallow container than can accommodate the length of the skewers and pour marinade over. Leave to marinate for one to two hours until ready to cook.
3. Cook over hot coals until sizzling and vegetables are tender but not so soft that they fall apart.
Ayrton van der Linde’s Minty Lamb Kebabs
Ingredients
150ml pot natural yoghurt
1 ½ tbsp mint sauce
1 tsp ground cumin
300g diced lean lamb
½ a small onion, cut into large chunks
2 large pita breads
2 large handfuls lettuce, chopped
Wooden skewers
Tip – Wooden skewers
If using wooden skewers, first soak them in water for five minutes to stop them from burning under the grill. Swap the lamb for chicken or pieces of firm tofu for a lower fat version and pack the pitas with plenty of salad.
Method
1. Heat the grill to medium. Mix the yoghut and mint sauce together, then divide the mixture in half. Stir the cumin into one half of the yoghurt mix, then pour over the diced lamb. Mix thoroughly to coat and season well.
2. Thread the lamb onto the four skewers, alternating with pieces of onion, then arrange on the wire rack of a grilling tray. Grill the kebabs for three to four minutes on eac side, until the lamb is cooked through and the onion is beginning to brown.
